Dalyan is a town in Mugla Province in Turkey, located between the well-known districts of Marmaris and Fethiye on the south-west coast of Turkey , and which depends the district of Ortaca administratively.
Dalyan achieved international fame in 1986 , when developers wanted to build a luxury hotel on the nearby Iztuzu beach, a breeding ground for the endangered loggerhead sea turtle species. A major international storm blew up, with David Bellamy championing the cause of the conservationists. The development project was stopped and the beach is now a protected area.
Life in Dalyan revolves around the Dalyan Çayi (stream/river) which flows past the town. The boats that ply up and down the river, navigating the maze of reeds reflected bright green in the water, are the preferred means of transport to all the local sites.
Dalyan means “fishing weir” in Turkish . Bass and mullet and Sea Bream swim upstream from the sea to Köycegiz Lake where another large town of the region, Köycegiz , is located. The fish spawn there, and when returning to the sea they are caught in the “dalyans”.
Besides its success in the field of tourism, the region around Dalyan is a highly fertile and productive agricultural zone. Cotton is grown intensively as well as all sorts of fruits and vegetables which are all on display in the market on Saturdays, when villagers come from miles around to sell their products.